Gautam Mukunda wrote:
> Given these facts our European list members might perhaps understand why
> many Americans, myself and Easterbrook included, feel that European
> critiques of the American environmental record have far more to do with
> knee-jerk anti-Americanism than any actual empirical basis.
>
I agree that our record on the environment is a good one, and though I think
that there are mitigating factors (such as the ancient sewage systems in many
European cities), we don't have anything to be ashamed of. In the matter of
global warming, a predicament that affects every part of the globe, we have
not taken the position of leadership that our position would dictate.
Particularly disturbing is the trend towards even more wastefulness over the
last several years.
So while agree with you that _some_ of the criticism is anti-Americanism, I do
believe that it is incumbent upon us to take the bull by the horns when it
comes to global warming. Personally, I don't believe that it would hurt the
economy to cut back on consumption. In the face of a crisis the people of
California cut back 11% on electricity consumption in a very short period of
time. We could easily cut automobile emissions by requiring a larger
percentage of the automobiles sold to be high mileage vehicles and by
penalizing ostentatious consumption (read luxury SUVs). And we should reward
a move towards renewables. In California, 11% of our energy comes from
renewable sources and we have a goal to raise it to 20% by 2010. If the rest
of the country follows suit, it's only a matter of time before we cut our
greenhouse emissions to acceptable levels.
Doug
